She Will Be Loved
by MissSugarQuill
Summary: A Dark Lord is after Lily, but there is something that can save her. Lily and James are about to realise the meaning of true love, but not after being at each other's throats for years.
1. The Introduction: Pointless Yelling

Disclaimer: I don't own anything - except the characterisation and some new characters. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter One ll The Introduction: Pointless Yelling**

--

"_Merlin_!" screeched Lily. "This cannot be happening. No, I refuse to believe it... It just _cannot _be happening!"

"Ah - well, I'm afraid it is, Lils," Chelsea said in a would-be consoling voice, if it hadn't been quaking with fear. Her redhaired friend had a fiery temper, one that she was quite scared of at times.

"This is just... _injustice_!" shrilled the redhead, picking a book up and hitting herself with it. She dropped it and moaned, "Ow. That really hurt."

Lily's three friends watched her vent her frustration, rather abashed.

"Um, you still have us," piped up Steph nervously. "We'll... be there."

Lily laughed hollowly, "Yeah, I'll have you guys, but guess _who else will be there_? The Marauders!"

"Well, I don't see the fuss," spoke up Leonie sceptically. "It's just the Marauders. They're boys in our year whom we've known since we were eleven. It'll be _fine_." Meet Leonie Chan. Completely practical and sometimes a bore, but the only one Lily would listen to. The only one who could handle her fiery and short temper.

"No, it won't," moaned Lily, and Steph and Chelsea exchanged glances; if _they_ had uttered Leonie's words, they'd have received a ten-minute rant.

"Because Potter is there. Potter! The egocentric, psyschotic, idiotic _pratball_, arrogrant little GIT..."

And she went on and on.

Steph sighed and looked at Leonie, "What do we do now?"

"Just wait for a couple of minutes," Leonie replied nonchalantly, smiling. She picked up a book and sunk into a chair. "It'll be awhile..."

Chelsea was amazed at how calm she was. With a sigh, she also sat down and began talking to Steph. Lily didn't seem to notice her friends' lack of attention, and continued her rant.

**EIGHTY-ONE SECONDS LATER.**

Lily drew in a breath and was probably about to rattle off another list of insults about James Potter (she seemed to have an endless agenda) before Chelsea seized the opportunity to cut in.

"Okay, okay, we get the point!" she almost yelled. "You - _dislike_ Potter. Being in a cabin with him is not your cup of tea. Okay, fine! It it's really so terrible, then we'll go and sort this out with Dumbledore - "

"Say, talking about me?" came a sly voice.

James Potter stood in the doorway of the girls' dormitory, accompanied with Sirius, Remus and Petter. He was grinning mischievously and Sirius and Petter kept snickering.

Lily snorted, her face instantly a scowl. "Oh, of course," she said sarcastically. "But since when did you become the world's greatest sorcerer?"

"Well, now that you mention it - "

"Oh shut up, Potter," snapped Lily, her tone venomous. "I'm not in the mood to see your head inflate to the point your neck can no longer support it. Go away."

Sirius let out a low whistle, "Man, Lily is _good_."

James' eyes flashed, but he said infuriatingly, "You're right, dear Evans. We have a _whole week_ to talk about my greatness, seven days filled with my glorious presence at this Muggle camp. Are you looking forward to it?"

"You're a pig, Potter," she muttered.

"Takes one to know one," James retaliated, while the others watched in mute awe.

"Oh, grow up Potter," Lily said acidly, resorting to her last choice (the "mature" way). "Cut me some of your prickiness. I have to be stuck with _you_ for a week."

James smirked because he knew it would annoy her. "You make it sound so awful. I'm not _that_ bad, Evans. Honestly."

"Most find James to have a very sweet disposition," Sirius found it necessary to add.

Lily just snorted.

James glared at her, "I am _not bad_."

"Uhh, yeah you are."

"Not!"

"Are!"

"Not!"

"ARE!"

"NOT!"

"ARE!

"NOT!

During this random screaming, the friends of the pair just stared at them, quite amazed at how they could argue over the smallest things. In fact, most of the time, their arguments ended only because they forgot what they were rowing about in the first place. Of course, this only happened after at least an hour of pointless yelling.

"_ARE_!"

"_NOT_!"

"Could you two _please_ shut up now?" yelled Sirius.

"No!" Lily and James snapped at the same time, still glaring daggers at each other. Remus sighed. The pair acted like two immature brats.

"Okay, _fine_," Sirius resolved calmly. "Then _we_ will leave you two in peace, as your bickering is really quite... detrimental to our mental health. Oh, don't mind me. Continue your yelling, and we'll see you tonight. Good luck, you two. You have - hmm, five hours all to yourselves... just for insulting each other!"

During this, Sirius had been ushering everyone else outside.

"Goodbye!" he yelled with a grin, and slammed the door shut.

There was silence as he cast an advanced spell on the door so that it would not allow anyone to enter or leave until eleven o'clock that night.

"What the - ?" James said blankly.

Lily ran to the door and seized the knob with her hands, tugging at it fiercely. She let out a little shriek, "Potter, what has your lunatic friend done?"

James dropped on his knees beside her and peered at the doorknob. "Does it look like I know?" he asked, righting his glasses in annoyance.

Glaring at him, the redhead feverishly looked around for her wand. "Oh, no! I left it with Leonie - Merlin, Potter, I _hate_ you!" she screeched, using James by way of venting her distress.

His jaw dropped, "What, so now it's _my_ fault the lunatic locked us in here?"

"Well - he's _your_ friend!"

"It's _your_ fault you started the whole argument in the first place!"

"But _you're_ the one who claimed to be in league with Albus Dumbledore!"

"What - _what_? Forget about Dumbledore, just shut your mouth for a second, Evans."

"What don't you, Potter?" Lily countered.

"Make me," James countered back, staring her down. Lily gave him up and he stood up and kicked the door. "SIRIUS!" he bellowed, "GET ME OUT OF HERE. LEAVE THE GIRL IF YOU MUST - I DON'T REALLY CARE."

Lily looked up at him contemptuously. "I truly feel sorry for the girl you're going to marry, Potter," she said in the most calm and serene voice she had used all evening.

Those words made James' mouth twist into a smile, but before he could say anything, black writing appeared on the blank wall on the right side of the door.

_Will you two just SHUT UP FOR A SECOND? The whole castle can hear ya, and no one really wants to! If everyone was stuck in their own positions (WHICH THEY ARE) they'd all want to shoot you two with a gun! (Some sort of Muggle weapon - very painful.) Now please for the love of Merlin's pants, TRY to get along and STOP FIGHTING! You may come out at eleven tonight, hopefully with no injuries, please? You two need to learn to tolerate each other, otherwise no one will keep their sanity at Muggle camp. I wasn't kidding when I said your arguing was detrimental to our health. Do you really want that on your conscience? Oh, and enjoy dinner. It'll be sent through the door soon, so make sure neither of you are standing in front of it or you'll be knocked out by a tray and you can't blame me for not warning you. The food was nicked from the kitchens. Enjoy. Love, Sirius._

James blinked at the message, then turned away, threw himself facedown on a bed and let out a muffled yell.

"I'm going to _murder_ him," was all Lily said.

Still groaning, James turned on his back and said ominously, "Not if _I_ get to him first."

"Five hours with Potter," ther redhead muttered to herself, putting her hands to her face and rubbing it vigorously. "POTTER! ARGH!"

"This is going to be so much worse than that stupid camp," James said monotonously, staring at the top of the four-poster.

Lily pulled her hands off her face and snapped, "_Of course_ it is. At least my friends will be around at camp. There's only you right now. Sirius was really hoping high when he said he expects there to be no injuries. Unfortunately, I don't have my wand with me." She glared at his lying form on the bed, "You stupid boy, Potter. This is all your fault."

"Of course it is," the ravenhaired boy said demurely, shutting his eyes. "When _isn't_ it my fault?"

--

A/N: Whoa, talk about cat fight! These two fight entirely too much, and unlike their fighting in other stories, they seem to _really_ hate each other! And in reality, they do! Really, really, _really_ loathe each other. No hidden feelings under their screaming. Just good ol' fashioned screeching. Isn't that dandy? :) Yeah, and Lily is a bit of a disaggreeable girl in this fic. Not that loveable redhead. And sorry for the tacky story title... Lol. And the weird summary. Lol. Byebye, and please review! – msq.


	2. The Five Hours: Still Alive?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Two ll The Five Hours: Still Alive?**

--

The first hour was spent silently. Lily kept her head in her pillow for half an hour and spent the other half reading a Muggle novel. James spent the hour ransacking through Steph's toy trunk and doing the five thousand piece jigsaw puzzle of a cat.

At seven o'clock, two trays flew through the door and writing appeared on the wall again. This time, it was dark green.

"Great, I'm starved," Lily blurted out, throwing down her book.

James debated for a couple of seconds whether or not to say anything, then said idly, "Never knew girls were supposed to admit when they were hungry."

"Guess again."

_Hello there! Having a good time? I certainly hope so. Well, here's your dinner. Bon appetit! I know you're going to kill me when you come out, but you can't do anything now, can you? Hehe. From your dearest and soon-to-be-dead Sirius._

Lily looked at James, "You have really strange and annoying friends. Birds of a feather flock together, I suppose."

Ignoring this insult, James walked over to the trays, "Just be quiet and eat, Evans. Ever learnt to do that?"

The next half hour was spent eating quietly. Sirius had sent chicken, turkey and ham sandwiches, potato salad, green salad and pumpkin juice, and both of their murderous intent was softened a little as they chomped through the meal.

While eating, James' eye had caught onto a letter one of Lily's old boyfriends had sent to her. She had obviously meant to throw it away but had never made it to the waste basket and had been forgotten.

Come to think of it, James thought while munching hard on his sandwich, Lily had had her share of boyfriends. He often wondered who in Merlin's beard could fancy such a girl, and whenever he asked, the boys all said that she was the best-looking girl in the year and arguably in the school.

James had never understood that.

At seven thirty, Lily went to her homework (she also happened to be the brightest in the year) and James continued on his puzzle, which was coming together quite nicely. The trays were left at the doorway.

An hour later, Lily finished her homework and went back to her novel, occasionally glancing over at James who was concentrating very hard on one of Steph's old puzzles. He was attractive enough, she had realised a long time ago, but such a pompous, arrogant boy that drove her up the wall.

Lily wasn't shallow, and none of James' physical assets was going to change her mind about him. He had never once been nice to her. Well, maybe once when they were younger and he had tried to win her forgiveness.

James checked his watch. Eight-thirty. He stretched and yawned. He really liked working on puzzles, but he was getting hungry again. As soon as he was thinking about his stomach, two packages of cookies came whizzing through the door.

_Thought you guys could do with some food. - Sirius. (Yes, I'm trying to earn your forgiveness.)_

"Great, dessert," James said happily and began munching on the cookies like a pig. Rolling her eyes in disgust, Lily took a cookie and nibbled on it, then continued reading.

**NINE O'CLOCK.**

"Only two hours to go!" squeaked James' watch, taking him by surprise. The puzzle was half done. Lily had finished reading. James didn't feel like doing the puzzle anymore. The two sat and stared at nothing.

Finally, Lily spoke reluctantly, "Exploding Snap?"

"All right."

Ten minutes later, she yelled gleefully, "I won!"

"Just 'cause you cheated," James exclaimed defensively.

"I did not!"

"I declare a rematch!" James announced, smiling at her. He only smiled at her about four times a year, so it was a bit surprising and a little unnerving.

Which was probably why Lily said, "Okay, okay. A rematch it is."

**NINE FORTY-FIVE.**

"So," Lily calculated, "I won eighteen games out of twenty, and drew once." She shook her head indulgently, "Potter, you're really bad at this!"

James grinned, "I know I am. But you forgot to say you lost once."

"Yes... _once_."

"Once too many!"

"That made no sense."

"I know."

Biting back a smile, Lily said, "Gobstones?"

"Sure. I rule at that. Just watch me. I'm going to cream you."

"Whatever."

**TEN THIRTY.**

"Half an hour to go!" piped up James' watch. James and Lily almost jumped out of their skins; they had been concentrating hard on their game of Gobstones. So far, James was ahead by five points.

"Can't you make that thing shut up?" Lily grumbled.

"No... Sirius gave it to me for Christmas in fifth-year... annoying little thing, but it was a present from a friend..."

Five minutes later, James announced his victory, much to Lily's disappointment.

"So... twenty five minutes to go," Lily said, changing the subject.

"Yup," James tossed a Gobstone in the air and caught it. ("Show off," Lily muttered) "Twenty five _beautiful_ minutes."

"Great. No more being stuck with you."

"I wasn't that bad, was I?" he asked innocently, pulling a pouty face.

Lily just smirked, "You were."

"I most definitely was not!"

"You were to."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-uh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-uh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-uh."

"Oh, whatever," James finally gave up with a sigh.

"I won," Lily grinned.

James stared at her for a moment, noting that her smile was very pretty and that her green eyes sparkled in an alluring way.

_I think I'm starting to understand where the "prettiest in the year" comes from..._

Lily's smile slowly faded and she cocked her head to one side, "Potter? Quit staring at me, if you please."

"Don't flatter yourself," James said at once, managing to stop himself from blushing. "I wasn't staring at you."

"It's all right," Lily said obstinately. "I know I'm beautiful and guys always stare at me, so there's no need to try and hide it."

James stared at her in shock. "Modest are we, Evans?"

"Of course."

Orange writing faded onto the wall again, catching their attention.

_Uh, hi guys. I just wanted you to know that this was completely Sirius' idea, and I had nothing to do with it, nor did Peter, or any of the girls'... so please aim your hexes at the right person. Well anyway, Sirius is letting you guys out a bit early, so prepare your wands... Okay, see you soon. - Remus._

"Seems to me like Remus is the only one with brains in your little quartet," Lily said loftily, tossing her red hair.

"I am one of the top students in the year!" James exclaimed.

"Too bad you don't have that sort of common sense."

"People with too much common sense are so boring."

"Haha, very funny. I know that was an undirected insult at me, by the way."

"Very good, Evans. Not as stupid as you look, right?"

Lily glared at him and stuck out her tongue.

At that moment, the door to the dormitory flung open. Sirius ran him, talking a mile a minute.

"Good evening my friends! Wow, you're both alive and - " his eyes widened dramatically and he clapped a hand to his mouth, " - _perfectly healthy_! No extra body parts, or _missing_ body parts... _What_ have you been doing?"

"Hey, you've almost finished that puzzle!" squealed a voice gleefully. Steph pushed past Sirius and ran to her cat puzzle, "Wow, look at it! I've been wanting to see how'd it look finished for _ages_!"

"So, you planned your funeral yet?" James asked Sirius simply.

"Err - is that cue for 'Sirius, run' ?" Sirius asked timidly, edging to the door.

Lily sighed wearily and pointed them all out. "Both of you, just get out of my dormitory. I don't want to see either of your faces for at least twelve hours."

"The feeling's mutual," James said in relief, hurrying out of the dorm and pulling Sirius with him.

"Well - good night!" Sirius remembered to yell.

Lily smiled wanly as she marched up and slammed the door shut. She sighed heavily and faced her friends. Leonie and Chelsea had slipped in and were gazing at her curiously.

"Okay, what happened?" Chelsea asked at once.

"I'm exhausted," Lily muttered.

"Is that all?" Chelsea raised her eyebrows.

"Look, nothing happened," the redhead answered shortly. "You can all ask questions tomorrow morning. I need my sleep."

"Fine."

"Remember we have to pack for our camping trip," Steph piped up, "We're leaving in a couple of days."

"What? But they only told us today!" whined Chelsea.

"Yeah, it's such short notice," Leonie agreed.

Lily sighed, "Great, one week in the same lodge as Potter..."

"You've survived five hours, one week is just thirty times longer than that."

"Thanks for the word of comfort, Chel."

"You're welcome, Lils."

--

A/N: Hope you liked that! :) And thank you SO much for reviewing. I know you're all hatin' Lily at the moment, but her stuck up character will be "explained" soon. - msq.


	3. The First Night: Girl Problems

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Three ll The First Night: Girl Problems**

--

Lily glanced over at the lodges, really two cabins connected by a common-room. The sea of sixth-year students were all dressed in Muggle clothes; some of them, like the Slytherins, looking uncomfortable and out of place while maintaining a contemptuous stance.

The redhead sighed. She wasn't in any mood to go on some camping trip in a Muggle area - another one of those 'brilliant' ideas out of the otherwise potent mind of Albus Dumbledore. His cheerful words from that morning resonated in her head.

"I thought it would be a grand opportunity for those from Muggle families to teach and educate those who haven't quite had the chance to experience the truly delightful wonders of the Muggle world. In other words, here is your chance to show off! Transportation will be by bus - and let me soothe your fears, the journey is much smoother and comfortable than one conducted on our own Knight Bus - until, naturally, you arrive at the designated area. It will be in the woods somewhere, quiet, peaceful and natural, and you will live just like Muggles. I expect you to be on your best behaviour and keep the tone down on wizarding things, such as Quidditch or Hogwarts, as meddling Muggles may hear and get suspicious. We don't want to erase anyone's memory, all right?"

"Well, here's our lodge," Steph said blithely as she was in lead. Steph and Chelsea were both purebloods, while Lily and Leonie were Muggle born.

"Yeah, our lodge with the _Marauders_," Lily muttered, kicking a stone.

Steph and Chelsea exchanged looks. Lily had been a lot moodier and more sullen since the beginning of their sixth-year. Sure, her temper had always been a little fiery, but she was usually bright and optimistic, not to mention kind and willing to listen. Now she was just moody, sadistic and stuck-up.

"I don't get why you even hate them so much," Leonie said loftily.

"They keep pranking me!"

"Well, there must be a start to all this. They don't prank anyone just randomly."

"It was because James poured pumpkin juice over Lily on our train ride to Hogwarts, back in first-year," Chelsea said reluctantly. She didn't feel much like talking, but she decided she would help Lily jog back her memory.

"Oh, yeah. The stupid prat," was all the redhead muttered, rolling her eyes.

"But he spent ages trying to make up to you!" exclaimed Steph, looking wide-eyed at her. "James was so sweet to you in first-year. You just kept holding a grudge against him and he finally gave up."

"Well, he shouldn't have poured juice on me in the first place," said Lily resolutely, walking on ahead. Steph and Chelsea exchanged looks.

When they reached the door of their lodge, they walked in and entered the common-room. The Marauders were already there, playing Exploding Snap.

"Hey girls!" Sirius waved at them cheerfully, "Your cabin's on that side, but feel free to come into ours any time!"

Chelsea laughed but Lily just glared and stomped away.

"Lily's starting to annoy me," Steph whispered to Chelsea and Leonie. "She doesn't have to act like the whole world's about her..." Steph looked meaningfully at her friends before quietly walking into their cabin.

Leonie bit her lip, "You know, Lily _has_ been acting a lot more stuck-up... since the beginning of this year."

Chelsea nodded heavily, "She's changed..."

"Ever since she got all those boys chasing her - "

" - she thinks everyone loves her and has to worship her," finished Chelsea.

Lenoie nodded, then followed Steph and Lily into their new cabin. Chelsea stayed in the common-room and sat in the corner, watching the boys yahoo and yell and carry on.

--

That night, they ate dinner in the big hall. It wasn't as grand and magnificent as the Great Hall, but it was neat, clean and spacious. The Houses mixed up and sat with each other, except for Slytherin (typically).

Lily was complaining about the food loudly, much to her friends' annoyance.

"Merlin, this tastes _awful_, haven't they heard of decent food around here? How disgusting does that look! My sister can cook a _whole_ lot better than that. This camp is terrible."

"Lily, just... be quiet for a second, and see if you can do it, okay?" Leonie snapped. Since she was like this whenever Lily went too far, no one really paid any attention.

"Leonie, just _try_ a bit of this!" Lily complained, lifting her spoon, "It's like _powdered_!"

"No one cares, Lily!" screeched Steph, losing it. Everyone in the vicinity stopped eating to look at her.

Lily just gaped at her. Steph never raised her voice. She was the bubbly one who hated serious fights and arguments and wanted to live in a happy, carefree, rainbow-filled world. She was the baby of the four and the one who always stayed quiet when Lily had her tempers.

"What did you say?" Lily finally asked her.

Steph kept her mouth shut and stared at her dinner plate.

"Quit staring!" Chelsea snapped at the people looking. "And Lily, I agree with Leonie and Steph. It's Muggle _camp food_. What do you expect? It can't be royalty wherever you go."

Lily glared at her, but Chelsea glared her down.

The girls went back to eating, but none of them spoke and none of them looked happy.

"Whoa, talk about girl problems..." muttered Sirius, a few seats down.

"And you complain that I'm a prat to you guys," James half-joked, his eyes lingering on the sluggish Lily for a moment.

--

"Ow! Stop stepping on my foot Sirius!" Remus hissed.

"Shhh!" James hissed back before Sirius could retaliate.

The boys were busy "rearranging" one of the Slytherin's cabins, putting up bowls of ice-cream, bottles of honey, whipped cream, hot fudge, and other icky things to create pure gooey pandemonium when they woke up. Classic Muggle pranks were never considered beneath the Marauders.

"Finally done," whispered James, whose arms were aching, "Let's get outta here!"

They left the cabin quickly and burst into their common-room, laughing loudly. The girls who had been sitting with each other but not talking all looked up. Lily stood up first, her expression stormy.

"And _where_ were you guys?" she demanded.

"It's none of your business," James snapped back, stepping up to confront her.

"Not again..." sighed Sirius.

"It's past midnight and the latest to be back in the cabin was nine o'clock!" Lily hissed vehemently, "You're three hours late!"

"Oh, don't be such a prefect for once."

"Potter, you better tell me what on earth you were doing or I'm reporting this to Dumbledore as soon as we're back. You have no business to be out of your rooms so late!"

"Evans, quit sticking your nose in other people's business. Not everyone has to tell you every little detail of their life!" James snarled.

"I do_ not_ stick my nose into other people's business! Do I?" Lily immediately appealed to her friends.

They didn't say anything.

Finally, Leonie spoke up, "Lily, you've been annoying everyone lately."

"Ever since this year, you've been so bossy," Chelsea added quietly. "Telling us what to wear, what to buy, what to give other people when it was Christmas."

"You expect us to listen to everything you say," Steph said, her eyes averted to the ground. "And you yell at us when we don't agree with you. It's not pleasant to be treated like that, you know."

"Besides, not everyone has the same opinion as you."

"Right; it'd be a pretty boring world."

"And not everyone's going to listen to what you say."

"You can't push people around."

"We all have our own lives, and you have yours. We respect that, so why can't you respect us?"

Lily could not believe what she was hearing. Her own friends were turning against her when they were supposed to be supporting her. Her green eyes sparkled with disbelieving anger and for a moment, she was speechless.

"You know what?" she said, clipped. They gazed at her with some apprehension. "You three are the worst friends a person could ask for." With that, she turned on her heel and made a beeline for her cabin.

"Lily, don't be selfish!" Steph yelled after her, once again losing her temper. "The world doesn't revolve around you!"

Lily's reponse was to slam the door behind her with extra force. She threw herself on her bed. With tears of anger in her eyes, she buried her face in her pillow and cried herself to sleep.

--

A/N: Aww... I feel sorry for her now. But the truth had to be told. Go Steph! :) Lol. Thanks for reviewing again. 'Twas nice! :) Okay, on with the story! – msq.


	4. The Bushwalk: Losing Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Four ll The Bushwalk: Losing Everyone**

--

Lily was the first to wake up the next morning. She crawled out of bed and got dressed. She was still fuming over last night's argument. She watched her friends as they slept and wanted nothing more than to draw crude things on their faces with a magic marker.

Pulling her hair into a ponytail, Lily sighed and walked into the common-room. There was already someone there.

James was sitting in the central armchair as he read. He didn't notice Lily until she sat down near him and hugged herself.

"Oh," he said, startled, "Morning." It was sometimes like this. They could act in a civilised and mature manner, depending on their moods. Even if they had had a huge argument the night before. Everything was sort of subdued and forgiven, for lack of a better word, by the next morning.

Lily half-nodded at him.

James put down his book and ventured, "You talked to Chelsea, Steph or Leonie yet?"

Lily hardened her heart and shook her head with a disdainful sniff. "No. And I'd rather it that way."

James just sighed. "Evans, you know what they said... it's true. You've been snappy and stuck-up lately. I mean, even _more_ than usual. It used to be just me you were nasty to, and that was a doss, but your own friends?"

She glared at him, "Stay out of this, Potter."

"I can't," James said coolly. "Seeing as I was the one that started the whole thing last night, remember?"

Lily thought back and realised this was true. Her eyes narrowed at him in a glare that could scorch.

"You ruin everything, Potter."

"No, I just ruin you, and it's high time you realised that you aren't _everything_, my dear princess."

Lily leapt to her feet and in a flash had crossed over to him. Her eyes blazing dangerously, she lifted her palm and smacked James across the head. Then she stalked out and slammed the door behind her.

James rubbed his head.

_Ouch. That girl sure hits hard._

--

Lily sat with the popular, preppy Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw girls at breakfast that morning. She kept shooting glances back at her own friends, but pretended to be completely absorbed in the conversation.

"What does she think she's playing at?" hissed Chelsea. "Is she really that - ?"

"She's still our friend, but she's only thinking about herself at the moment," Leonie cut in with a sigh, "Don't worry, you two. She has to come around sooner or later."

"You confront her, Lee," piped up Steph, "You're the only one who can handle her."

"That stunt you pulled yesterday was brilliant, Steph," Chelsea assured.

"Yeah, our little Stephanie, growing up!" Leonie ruffled her hair. "But anyway, I can't handle Lily. I mean, to some points I can, but in the end I have to admit defeat. She gets pretty unbearable and lately she's been worse."

The girls went quiet.

"I know someone," Steph said suddenly.

"Oh really? Someone who can handle the dragon?" Chelsea asked, half-sarcastically. "Who?"

"James Potter."

--

The first activity for that day was bushwalking. It was extremely cold, misty and foggy. In fact, the fog was so thick the students could only see about a foot in front. Everything else was obscured in a surreal mass of white and greys.

Chelsea, Leonie and Steph walked with Sirius, Peter and Remus and enjoyed a tinkling conversation. The girls had asked James to confront Lily and he agreed. Now he was lagging beside her.

Lily hated James following her. She tried walking at the back of the group, hoping he would go away and leave her alone, but he kept following her. She tried walking with the girls from breakfast, but soon grew bored of their gossipy conversations. She wished her friends would hurry up and apologise to her, so they could start talking again.

"Merlin, where is everyone?" she whined, blinking hard at the fog surrounding her. "Hellooo?"

"Shut up, Evans, and maybe we'll be able to hear the guide."

"Potter, please _go away_."

"Make me."

Lily clenched her teeth and continued walking with everyone else, though she could hardly see them. After awhile, her pace slowing down, she lost sight of them completely and tried to follow the sound of their footsteps and their voices. A little while after _that_, fighting through bushes and ferns and branches, she couldn't even hear anything.

What was worse, the track was now split.

_Goodness!_ she thought furiously, _This is supposed to happen in books and movies, but not in real life, and most definitely not to me!_

"So," Lily said loudly, hoping someone would hear her. "Which track do we take?"

No one answered for a moment.

"Left."

Lily gave a small shriek.

"Relax, Evans, it's just me," James said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Move it or lose it."

"You sure it's left?"

"Completely sure."

Too bad James had his fingers crossed.

Lily, against her own will, took the left path and walked it with James beside her. After ten minutes of complete silence, the fog began to clear and things had become slightly more visible.

"Hold on, there's something wrong," James suddenly said, stopping in his tracks.

"What?" Lily asked fearfully.

Looking around frantically, James asked very, very slowly.

"Where _is_ everybody?"

--

A/N: Ooooh! :) Suspense, suspense... Okay, thanks for reviewing! - msq..


	5. The Hut: More Pointless Yelling

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Five ll The Hut: More Pointless Yelling**

----------

"You stupid twit!" Lily exclaimed at once.

"What?" James spluttered, quite taken aback.

Lily whirled around and jabbed him violently in the chest, "This is all _your_ fault!"

James shoved her away, blinded by his fury, "Oh, so it's _my_ fault again, huh?"

"Nuh _duh_, you told me to take the left track, which was wrong!" Lily was screaming at him, looking ready to strike him again.

"And you listened, you little skeez, so I wonder whose fault _that_ was?" James said sarcastically.

"I am going to slap you in a second, Potter."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Screw you, you aren't worth it," Lily snapped nastily, "Now shut the feck up, it's the least you can do."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, Potter, because _in case_ you haven't realised we're stranded in the middle of a bloody, stupid forest, which, I might add, is in the middle of MUGGLEVILLE!--"

"What the hell is that?"

"--it means we're not in a wizarding area, git. We have _no_ wands, _no_ food, _nothing_, so you could _shut up_ while I figure out some witty plan to save myself!"

"Brilliant, all we need is a plan of yours to kill us off. Just marvellous. Pray tell."

Lily shoved him away and said hurtfully, "Do everyone a favour and jump in the sea."

Before James could retaliate, there was a wispy, airy and bone-chilling noise from somewhere around them. It sounded like spirits whispering and hissing at each other.

"What is that?" Lily had suddenly dropped her voice as she looked around, quite scared.

"No idea," James said quietly, looking around with wide eyes.

They both froze when they heard it again; this time, it was louder, as if it was getting closer to them.

"I don't like this," Lily whimpered.

"C'mon, let's get outta here--" James started to say, when suddenly there was a rushing of wind. Lily screamed. It sounded like everything was being sucked out of earth, and there were powerful winds everywhere.

It was like a hurricane as James yelled at Lily and grabbed her arm. They both started to run, shielding themselves from random flying objects.

They had been running for a couple of minutes when the winds began to die down, and everything slowly returned back to normal. The trees stopped rustling around dangerously as if they were about to be pulled right out by their roots at any moment.

When they burst out of the forest and into another clearing, they stopped running and caught their breath. James dropped Lily's arm and she collapsed onto the ground, panting.

"What the hell was that?" she asked as soon as she could talk properly.

"Beats me," James replied, looking shaken up. He stood up and exclaimed, "Hey, look at that!"

Lily looked up and to her surprise, saw a hut in the middle of nowhere. It was made out of wood and looked quite welcoming.

"Go and check it out," James ordered.

"Why me?" Lily asked.

"Because you'll make a better impression," James said irritably, without the slightest trace of embarrassment, "You ask too many questions, Evans, just go for the love of all things sane."

"Whatever," Lily said with a grin. She slowly walked up to the hut, straightened herself out (James rolled his eyes), and knocked on the door politely.

There was no answer.

So she knocked again.

Still no answer.

Lily touched the golden handle slightly, and the door creaked and open a crack. Hesitantly, she pushed it open a little more.

"Hello?"

James came up from behind her and pushed the door open wide, "Hello?" he also called.

There was still no sign of life.

They both stepped in awkwardly, keeping close to each other.

"I think it's empty," James finally said.

Restraining herself from going, "Nuh _duh_", Lily explored around. The door had opened right into the living area, which looked very cosy and warm. The lights were on and there were warm-coloured rugs covering the wooden floor. There were a couple of squishy armchairs and a large sofa that looked so luxuriously comfortable.

"It's empty and ours!" James said cheerfully, jumping on the sofa and kicking off his shoes.

"Hold on, are you sure we can just... invade?"

"We're not invading... just staying..."

The hut proved to be magical, as the kitchen would produce food at an instant if you wished aloud for it. There was a completely white and rather dazzling bathroom, and a cosy bedroom with two neat, clean and warm beds.

After Lily had finished exploring, she returned to the kitchen and saw James eating a treacle pudding.

"Excellent food," he managed to say.

Scrunching up her face, Lily squeaked an, "Ew," then said, "I wish for a cup of coffee."

"Such a young girl like you shouldn't drink such a caffeineated drink," James said slyly as a china cup of steaming coffee appeared in front of Lily.

"Just shut up and eat your pudding, Potter."

While they drank coffee/ate pudding, they argued over the facts of Wizard-and-Goblin War I, II and IV. WaGIII had only lasted for a month and, therefore, was not an interesting topic of conversation.

Fortunately, neither of them resorted to name-calling and insultive attacks. They had a good-natured argument for once.

After that, Lily brought up the subject of how they would return to camp.

"I don't want to go back there," James whined.

"Neither do I, but we'll have to one day."

"Yeah, _one day_. Meaning not now. Think about it later. You worry too much."

"No I don't," Lily replied with a small sigh.

Seeing how weary she was, James suggested softly, "Come on, let's play cards or something. I saw a deck of playing cards in the living room."

"All right..."

After they spent the morning playing Go Fish (Lily taught him how to play), they ate lunch together. Again, they felt uncomfortable and silence reigned. It was like that night when they were both stuck in Lily's dormitory. Neither of them knew how to act.

So they just shut up and ate.

_How come whenever she's surrounded by friends, we end up arguing, but when we're alone, we get along all right? That's not what it used to be before. We would just fight and fight all the time._

Lily looked up and saw a faint pink mark on James' face. Realising that she _had_ been acting like a bitch to everyone lately, she bit back a smile and said, "Does it hurt?"

James' head shot up, surprised and grateful that she was talking, "What does?"

"Where I hit you this morning."

"Oh," James touched the spot gently, "Uhh... no... yeah."

"Sorry," she said quietly, and quickly went back to eating.

Surprised that Lily was acting so _human_ towards him (for once), James murmured a, "It's okay..." But all the same, he wondered what had brought on the sudden mood change.

_Girls these days._

----------

A/N: Lol... Lily seems a bit more nicer, yeah? Well, she has her mood swings like every other teenage girl. Please review! I really want to keep those comments coming! Hehe, thank you for reading. Tally ho! --MSQ.


	6. The Changes: Growing Fonder

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

Note: The first section of this chapter is a little interlude about Snape and his cronies when they woke up in their cabin after the Marauders... "redecorated" it. Enjoy! :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Six ll The Changes: Growing Fonder**

----------

Narcissa Black opened her eyes groggily, dimly aware that it was way too early to be up. She yawned and checked her boyfriend's weird "alarm" clock. It was five-forty-one.

Figuring she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, she yawned again and sat up. Then she felt around for her fluffy blue slippers. As soon as she slipped into them, she shrieked and kicked them off. Her feet were covered in something gross, cold and oily.

Narcissa looked inside her slippers and saw... whipped cream.

"Ewww!" she shrieked again, throwing them instinctively. They flew across the cabin and knocked some string that she was sure hadn't been there before. The string snapped and a bowl of ice-cream flipped down from the ceiling, hitting Sandra Eyrit in the face.

Sandra was immediately awake.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, shooting out of bed.

"Yuck, this is so disgusting!" Narcissa squealed hysterically, trying to run to the bathroom. But on her way she tripped over some more string and set a bottle of honey squirting right into her face.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" she shrieked again, falling flat on her face.

"Narcissa? Is that you?" asked her boyfriend, Lucius Malfoy, sleepily, trying to open his eyes.

"What in the hell is going on?" Alex Bulstrode demanded furiously, getting out of bed. He stood up, took a step, slipped on a bottle of honey and fell on his face.

"Shut up!" Sim Lincon yelled from his bed. He had no idea what was happening, but all the screaming and yelling and swearing was annoying him.

No one paid any heed to him, and continued their clumsiness.

It was pure pandemonium as the girls shrieked and tripped over things, setting off even _more_ things which would hit the boys.

Sim lost his temper and leapt out of bed, "What the hell is--" He swore as he stumbled over an upturned bowl and tripped over his own feet.

"Oh, _man_, what's all this crap about?" grumbled Leanette Wallis, sliding out of bed with a yawn. Then she shrieked and ducked when a blob of ice-cream came flying at her face, accidentally sent by Narcissa.

"What the hell is happening?" screamed Leanette, scrambling back and knocking into Sandra. Screaming, the girls grabbed onto each other and landed on some string, which triggered another bowl of ice-cream to tumble onto Sim's head.

Yvette Parkinson was still hiding in her bed, as she figured out what was going on and figured it was best if she stayed still and quiet. Severus Snape, on the other hand, was as stupid as the others were, and got out of bed to go yell at everyone.

And of course, he received a squirtful of honey in his face, which made him swear and grab onto his pillow to stop himself from falling. He lost his balance over a long piece of string, smushed a banana and fell flat on his face.

Still swearing, Snape turned over, just in time to see a bowl of ice-cream came falling down onto his face.

---

After a dinner of tacos and pasta that night, Lily and James decided to go to bed early so they could plan how to return back to the campsite the next morning.

They had had a fairly civilized day, excluding the fact that they had been yelling at each other all morning, and were tired from being so polite to one another. Grateful that it was finally time for bed, Lily laid her head down on her pillow and fell asleep almost immediately.

James on the other hand stayed up a little longer. He laid on his bed for some time with his hands behind his head. He was pondering over... _Lily_. He figured out that she was pretty and all, and, given they were in different circumstances, he would go for her.

But... still... she was Lily Evans. She was evil to him. She was plain mean to him. She was a nasty biatch to him.

And recently, she had become all those things to other people as well.

Still... she was definitely a good person to talk to about life ambitions and future goals... she knew what she wanted and she was a smart girl... she was a lot like James in many ways. They both had their future planned and envisioned fantasies of being famous, rich and successful. They both thought ahead in life.

He could never used to hold a conversation with her. They'd just end up bickering. But she was becoming a little more nice to him, so... it couldn't hurt, could it?

_And_, James thought as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, _She certainly is very pretty..._

---

When Lily woke up the next morning, she found James' bed empty and waaaay too neat to be made up by him. Figuring the beds magically made themselves up, she slid off her comfy mattress and got dressed (the oak wood wardrobe had provided two sets of pyjamas which they found the night before.)

After washing her face, she went downstairs into the kitchen.

She stopped abruptly at all the food on the table.

"Holy crap, you've been talking a lot," Lily said, her eyes widening over the sea of eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes, fruit...

"I reckon, this has to be the biggest breakfast I've ever seen. Well, let's eat!" James said cheerfully, and Lily wondered how he could be so chirpy so early in the morning.

"After all," he continued through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, "We'll need our energy today."

"Why?" Lily questioned, taking a blueberry pancake and a cup of coffee.

James chewed thoughtfully, then shrugged.

It felt odd, eating breakfast with only James Potter as company, and not even bickering with him. Just communicating like she would with Chelsea, Leonie and Steph...

Lily inwardly sighed as James commented on the waffles. She wished she had smoothed things over with her friends before she wound up stuck in some bloody hut. She really loved and appreciated her friends, although she hadn't really been showing it.

They had all been right. She had been inconsiderate and selfish lately, but it wasn't really her fault... she couldn't help it... if boys and random people she met on the street would just stop telling her that she was pretty...

"Awww... man..." groaned James, clutching at his bloated belly, "That was one beasty breakfast..."

"Okay, now that you've reached your goal of looking like Father Christmas," Lily smiled to let him know she was joking, "We can perhaps start trekking back to camp?"

"If we must."

"Well, we can't really stay here," Lily said sensibly, "I mean, the thought's just insane. Look what it's done to us. We can even _converse_ normally without hexing one another."

"You don't like that?" James asked a bit softly.

Lily looked at him with intense green eyes, "Uhhh... let's just go outside, okay?"

"Whatever."

Once outside, Lily thought hard about what direction they should head off to. What she really needed was a compass. And a map, but the compass was more important.

"Aww, can't we stay?" James whined, pouting. He looked like a small child as he skipped about, observing the different types of flowers. He pulled out a wild pink rose and trotted over to Lily, who was still busy looking up at the sky and trying to figure out what direction she was facing.

"We can't stay here, Potter, we just can't," she was saying through clenched teeth.

"Here, this is for you," James said cheerily, handing her the rose.

"Oh, um, thank you," Lily said awkwardly, a hint of blush growing in her cheeks.

James just smiled and bounded off to continue exploring, "Call me when you figure out your witty plan to help us walk home!"

"Don't wander too far away!" Lily instinctively yelled after him.

James had to grin at that.

----------

A/N: Looks like James and Lily are growing fonder of each other! :) Hehehehe! I just love the thought of them together. They are so meant-to-be, it's so cute. :) --MSQ.


	7. The Talks: Friends These Days

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Seven ll The Talks: Friends These Days**

----------

"Where the _bloody hell_ is he?" said a nervous Lily, glancing out the kitchen window. It was thundering outside, and had been pouring for at least ten minutes. James still had not returned back from his little exploring trip.

A very anxious Lily was working herself up into a frenzied state as she drank several cups of hot chocolate (she decided to ditch the coffee--it tasted a bit weird to her, anyway.) She was waiting for James to return, that is, if he ever planned to.

"The stupid pratball, he probably fell into a lake or something," she muttered, though she sounded more concerned than annoyed.

Fidgeting with her hair, Lily wished for another cup of hot chocolate and drank it all in one go.

At that moment, the door flung open and in walked a soaked James Potter. Lily looked up immediately and shrieked in her relief.

"Hi, Evans," James said a bit sheepishly, as he dripped water everywhere.

"Potter!" she gasped, standing up, "You _idiot_!"

"Huh?" he said, taken-aback.

"You--you--you could get pneumonia!" Lily exclaimed, running to the living room and finding a cloak. She ran back in and draped it over him, "Why stay out there in the rain for?"

Smiling at her mothering, James pulled the cloak tighter around him, "I got lost."

"You shouldn't have gone off exploring, you're such a silly duffer," Lily said, still sounding irritated and concerned, "It's not safe!"

"Lily," James paused and Lily drew in her breath, as this was the first time ever he had called her by her first name, "I'm all right, so you don't need to worry about me. And secondly, I was looking for flowers to give to you."

"Potter, I don't need any flowers, and I'm not _worrying_ over you," Lily said with a sigh, though she was going pink, "It's just--what would McGonagall have to say if I return with your maimed body?"

"Oh, you would actually go and search for my body?" James grinned, "How sweet of you!"

"Potter, shut up."

"Back to sniping, hey?"

Rolling her eyes and biting back a smile, Lily pointed to the staircase, "Get upstairs now and take a bath. You're dripping water everywhere."

"I want to eat first."

Lily's jaw dropped open, "What happened to all that breakfast?"

James rolled his eyes, "I burned it off, of course! It's what you get for skipping around, looking for flowers in the pouring rain."

"Potter, just go upstairs."

"Okay, okay."

After taking a hot bath and changing into some dry, warm clothes, James came back downstairs to find Lily asleep at the kitchen table. Smiling inspite of himself, he whispered for a cup of coffee and drank it while looking at Lily's innocent sleeping form.

She looked so... peaceful. And beautiful. Like an angel.

James managed to tear his eyes away from her and he concentrated on his coffee. He wondered why it had taken so long for him to realise she was so pretty.

_Maybe because I'm not so shallow after all._

Besides, the way Lily had treated him really made him loathe her. She had been so damn _mean_ sometimes.

Lily stirred and slowly woke up.

"Good morning," James greeted briskly, taking another sip of his coffee.

Lily yawned and rubbed her eyes, "Must've dozed off... So you've dried off?"

"Yup."

They sat in silence for a couple of seconds.

"So what are we going to do today? I know we were planning to head back, but..." James waved at the pouring rain and cringed when a clap of thunder exploded, "...yeah."

"Um," Lily pondered for a bit, "Perhaps we can get started on that sixth-and-seventh-year dance Dumbledore asked the Gryffindor prefects to prepare..."

"Perhaps," agreed James in a dignified way.

Knowing that he was insulting her playfully, Lily swept him a quick look of scorn before resuming the topic at hand, "Okay, so--"

"Whoa, wait a second," James interrupted suddenly, "What makes you think we'll be back at Hogwarts in time?"

"Well, Potter, there are certain people called _friends_--" Lily stopped for a moment when she remembered that her friends weren't exactly happy with her, "--and, um, they'll notice we're missing, and they'll tell McGonagall, who'll tell Dumbledore, who'll get us back because he is a smart, smart man."

"And what makes you think, _Evans_, that our _friends_ are going to actually tell McGonagall?"

"You're such a delinquent, we're _missing_! As if they wouldn't tell her!"

"It's already been a day, they would've found us by now if they _knew_, or at any rate, were _trying_. They've got powerful spells, you know."

"So what are you saying?" Lily asked, quite tired.

"Our _friends_ have not told any teachers, and it's probably certain they're not going to any time soon," James finished loftily, "Especially as we're both gone. _Both _gone."

Lily's jaw dropped open, "And why is that?"

"Really, they call you the smartest and prettiest in the year, but your brain does take little trips every now and then," James sighed and Lily sighed at the mention of "'prettiest in the year', "Okay, Evans. Think. Remember what Sirius did to us about a week ago?"

Lily's irritation began to build, "Potter, just cut to the ch--... _Oh_."

For now she remembered.

"...you mean when he locked us in my dorm?" she spoke up quietly.

"Yes, Lily-bug."

"Lily-bug?"

"Some sort of Muggle bug, you should know, you're Muggle-born."

"Lady bug, Potter."

"...Same difference."

They both shut up to think of how much they hated Sirius.

"Look, what about Remus?" Lily piped up, "He'll tell, he has brains. And Leonie, Steph and Chelsea will too, at any rate. I know they're angry at me, but they wouldn't want me to die out here... would they?"

She bit her lip and wondered just how much of a nasty bitch she had been.

"Don't worry, you weren't that bad," James told her, apparently able to read minds, "And they've been your best friends for _years_. Best friends don't want their friend to die just 'cause of some silly argument and major mood swings."

"Potter, thanks for the word of comfort. But you don't know a thing about girls, so shut up."

"Will do," James grinned.

"So anyway, that means the majority of our friends will tell McGonagall, and the majority will over rule Sirius," continued Lily, trying to reassure herself.

"Unless," James started suddenly, a look of fear dawning on him.

"Unless what?" Lily automatically hissed, looking even more pale, "What 'unless' could there be?!"

James glanced at her and didn't really feel like frightening her any more than she already was, "Uhh... nothing."

"No, tell me!"

"Okay... unless Sirius manages to convince them not to tell. Okay, look. Your friends asked me to confront you so that maybe you'll come to realise that you've changed a lot over the summer. So I'm pretty sure they'll be keen on leaving you to stay with only me as company. Meaning that, if Sirius told them it's best to just leave us here for now, they'd probably go for it. With that, the majority balance tips, in favour of Sirius."

Lily blinked several times.

"Oh."

She blinked again.

"Wow. They made _you_ confront _me_?"

"Yeah," James shrugged, "Apparently, they're all pretty scared of you."

Lily blinked once more, "Even Leonie?"

"Even Leonie."

She felt pretty sad about that new piece of information. It felt really bad to have friends that were _scared_ of you.

"Wow. That really sucks," she said slowly, trying to overcome her shock.

"Yeah, you're a pretty fiesty chick, but I can handle you," James grinned at her, hoping to cheer her up.

Lily's attention snapped back to him, "Yeah, whatever, Potter. Okay, so our so-called _friends_ aren't going to tell the teachers we're missing anytime soon. Someone has to notice, and anyhow, when all the sixth-years return back to Hogwarts, Dumbledore will notice we're missing. We're _prefects_, for Merlin's sake."

"Okay," James said, nodding, "That makes sense."

"Okay, so about this Spring dance--"

"Spring dance?" James interrupted, now sucking on a lollipop, "Lily-bug, we're in the middle of Winter."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, shouldn't it be a Winter dance?"

"Potter, Dumbledore left it up to us, and it's only logic that we hold a Spring dance! It's for the sixth- and seventh-years only, remember?"

"I have a wonderful memory, thank you," retorted James.

"Look, there's only like a month 'till Spring. You can wait."

"Well, guess what? There's only _nothing_ 'till Winter, 'cause we're already in it!"

"Do you even know how long it takes to plan a dance?"

"Yeah, like a few minutes. Food. People. Music. Firewhiskey. All set. See, we're already done. Now make it a Winter dance."

"Potter, _no_. It takes a couple of weeks to plan dances, and we haven't even started."

"Sure we have, didn't you just hear me? Food. People. Music. Firewhiskey. Look, I just planned two dances. We're on a roll."

Lily rolled her eyes and said, "It isn't that simple. It takes _weeks_ to get these things together." Still, she was amused at James' constant chatter. He was cute, both in looks and personality.

"But with _my_ ability, we can get it done, like, now," James winked.

"Sure."

"Fine, be that way, but we're going to have to plan the Winter dance soon."

"The _Spring_ dance."

"No, the Winter dance."

"Spring."

"Winter."

"Spring."

"Winter."

"Spring."

"Winter."

"SPRING!"

"WINTER!"

"SPRING!"

"WINTER!"

"I have a feeling this is why Sirius locked us in your dorm in the first place," James said grimly.

"Whatever, it's still gonna be the Spring dance," Lily said defiantly, in no hurry to forget about the argument.

"Whatever you say, Lily-bug."

Smiling at her success, the two started planning more things about the very definite _Spring dance_, bickering and arguing along the way.

---

"I love it! Lily and James lost together, imagine them _relying_ on each other! Hehe, this is so brilliant! Fortunately no one else realised they were missing, but how _great_ is this?"

Sirius was rolling on the floor, laughing.

"It's not that brilliant," Remus interrupted, "And they could be in danger. How are they going to find food and shelter?"

"It can't be that hard," Sirius said, still chuckling, "And they'll both live. They're smart people. It's just they'll need to get along. Does no one else see the outcomes this whole scheme achieves?"

He was still laughing.

Chelsea smacked the back of his head, "Snap out of it, man. You know you're gonna be dead when they come back."

"Me? Dead?" Sirius asked painfully, rubbing his head, "But it's not my fault they got lost together."

"Yeah, but it _is_ your fault you didn't tell McGonagall," Steph said.

"But what about you guys? You could've told her, too."

He had a point there.

"Okay," Leonie spoke up, "So maybe we agree that this is a good way they can perhaps learn to get along, and also for James to talk some sense into Lily. But Remus is right. They could be in serious danger."

Sirius grinned, "No worries. They'll be fine."

"Hopefully," Chelsea murmured, looking out the window, into the dark night. _I'm sorry we were so harsh on you, Lily. Promise you and James are all right, and that you'll come back safely, okay?_

----------

A/N: Yeah, I know Remus was the prefect, but this is pre-OoTP, okay? :) It seems like Lily's friends are starting to get frightened, and also that Lily and James are starting to slip into the whole "I argue with you to hide my feelings" sorta thingy. Hehe. --MSQ.


	8. The Breakdown: Wanting Love

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Eight ll The Breakdown: Wanting Love**

----------

"Butterbeer is the furthest I am going to supplying alcoholic drinks, Potter!"

"C'mon, a spot of Firewhiskey and some Cherrysip?" begged James.

"Butterbeer, my final verdict."

"Nooo! Firewhiskey, at least!"

"No way!"

"Even you said the dance is only for sixth- and seventh-years! Sixteen and seventeen year olds _need_ booze."

"We are sophisticated and mature students, we don't need _booze_ to have a good time."

"...I've never heard of that one before. Did you make it up?"

"Yeah. Pretty good, right?"

"It's all right, but Lily-bug! C'mon, just a bit of Firewhiskey! Please!"

"_No_, Potter. And if you don't shut up, I am going to jam this pencil in your eye!"

"...Okay."

"Thank you!"

"No problem."

"You're being really irritating, did you know that?"

"Me? Irritating? Not possible."

"You'll be surprised..."

---

After a hard day of planning the Spring dance, Lily and James had gotten quite a bit done.

At dinner, they didn't say anything. Probably sick of talking and arguing. They ate in silence, which made them aware that they were quiet, which made them nervous, which made them check out each other, which made them re-think about each other's positive attributes.

James was afraid he was developing a teeny tiny crush on Lily. She was definitely the sort of girl he could talk to, and he loved their little fights nowadays. Before, he used to get really fired up about them, but he enjoyed it now, knowing there were _hardly _any hard feelings left. And the girl was undoubtedly gorgeous. He had fallen in love with her red glossy locks and especially her emerald eyes.

Surprisingly, Lily was also having similar problems. She found herself stealing glances at him, just to catch a glimpse of his honest hazel eyes and his untidy black hair. She liked how he had such a cute, playful personality, and how he could always turn awkward situations into times to be remembered forever. She found herself looking forward to talking and bickering with him. And he looked so strong... she wondered how it must feel to be held by him.

They were both falling for each other, but desperately trying to stop themselves.

---

After dinner, James went upstairs to brush his teeth and wash his face while Lily stayed down in the living room, looking over the notes she had written for the Spring dance. James took longer than ten minutes, as he scrubbed every inch of his face.

What can I say, he's a vain boy.

When he returned back to Lily, he found her asleep again. James felt pity on her. The poor thing. She seemed so tired and weak these days.

---

_Lily was walking through Hogwarts by herself. She was looking for her friends. When she entered the common-room, she found them, all standing in a group. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were also there. They were all huddled, whispering._

_"Hi guys," she said cheerfully, coming up to them._

_None of them turned around and greeted her._

_"Hey, what are you talking about?" Lily asked, trying to join in._

_"Go away, we don't want you here," Leonie snapped._

_"Yeah, nobody likes you," Steph said, crossing her arms._

_"What?" Lily was upset, "Why? Look, I'm sorry for being so selfish lately, but--"_

_"We don't care," James retorted, pushing her away, "Just go away, Lily."_

_"Yeah, we were just trying to make up an excuse to tell you we don't like you anymore," Chelsea said scathingly, "The fact that you've been a bitch lately helped a lot."_

_"Huh?" Lily was confused and ready to burst into tears._

_"You're not our friend, and nobody wants to be your's."_

_"Nobody likes you."_

_"Everybody hates you."_

_"Nobody cares, you may as well die."_

_Then they were all laughing in her face... maniacal laughter... she screamed at them to stop and held her hands up to her ears... but that made them laugh harder..._

---

"Lily? Are you okay?"

Lily opened her eyes and blinked confusedly. Then she slowly sat up.

"Yeah--let go of me," she grumbled, shaking James' hand off.

Surprised and a bit taken-aback, he dropped her arm.

"So... um... how's the dance coming along?" James asked, suddenly feeling very hostile.

"Crap," Lily muttered, pushing away the sheafs of parchment, "Far out, I've done _everything_ so far, why can't you do something?"

"What's wrong with you?" James finally snapped.

"Oh, _I don't know_," Lily retorted sarcastically, "I work so hard for everything and no one really cares after all!"

"What are you _on _about?" James asked, irritated.

"I have great friends, don't I?" Lily asked him, still sarcastically.

"Look, if this is about Chelsea, L--"

"No, it's not about those bitches!" Lily screeched, "It's about _everyone_! How come no one _cares_?"

James' mouth dropped open, "What do you mean, _no one cares_? No one cares about _what_?"

"Oh, screw you!" Lily yelled, "I don't even know what the hell I'm still doing here, you're just a bloody waste of space and time."

"You know, _Lily_," James yelled back, "You sure are a big fecking bitch when you want to be!"

"Damn proud of it!"

"Far out," James turned away and swore, "You know, if it weren't for your looks, no one would even bother to talk to you!"

Lily, who had been on the verge of tears, turned away as soon as he said that. Her throat tightened up and she put her hands up to her face. That remark broke her.

She burst into tears.

James, who was furiously running his hand through his hair, as he looked around the room, trying to calm down, did not realise the damage he had done.

Then he glanced over at her and saw her sobbing into her hands.

_Oh, crap_.

"Lily?" slowly, he crossed over to her and tried to look at her, "I'm sorry." When she didn't reply, he gently touched her arm, but she immediately pushed him away.

"Don't touch me, Potter!" she cried, and James looked genuinely disturbed at her scarlet cheeks and teary eyes, "I'm just another good-looking chick to you, right? That's what I am to everyone! No one cares about who I _am_."

James just stared at her.

"I wish I wasn't pretty!" Lily screeched as more tears poured down, "Look what it's done to me! All these boys fall over each other to drool over me, and that's made me so _arrogant_, and that's cost me my closest friends. I turned into a bitch because I expected everyone to just _fall in love with me_."

"Lily--"

"LET ME FINISH!" she screamed, "No boy wants to know who I am, they just like me because I'm pretty. If I looked like Moaning Myrtle, no one would give a crap about me! I'm more than just looks, you know. When I'm older, I'm gonna be some kinda whore because _no one will want to get to know me_. I'm going to die lonely, wishing that someone would just _talk_ to me, but that won't happen, because no one wants to!"

James' mouth was open.

"How come no one will just get to know me? Just talk and not stare at my chest or my face or whatever crap boys stare at. How come... how come no one will just love me for who I am... and not how I look...?" at this, Lily burst into fresh tears and buried her face in her hands.

A very shocked James stood there for a moment. So _that_ was how Lily Evans had been feeling? Scared that no one would love her for who she was?

"Lily... you're only sixteen," James said quietly, "You're a teenager. Teenage boys are scum--yes, I admit it--we're scum. We only care for looks. But that's life. Lily, when you graduate, you'll grow into a beautiful, successful, young lady, and young bachelors everywhere will be dying to get to know who you are."

Lily didn't say anything.

"But for now, you're just gonna have to deal with it. Hardly any boys you meet are going to be decent enough to hold a conversation with you for ages," James continued softly.

"You have," Lily muttered, slowly wiping her eyes.

"What?" James asked, leaning closer. He was just glad she was talking to him.

Lily just shook her head.

"Don't worry," she murmured, "I... I just wanna be loved."

"You will," James smiled at her, "You will be loved one day, Lily."

----------

A/N: Awww... how cute. --MSQ.


	9. The Good Times: Fun All Around

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Nine ll The Good Times: Fun All Around**

----------

When Lily woke up the next morning, she found herself curled up like a kitten on the sofa. Sitting on the floor below her was James; his head resting back onto the sofa. He had his arms and legs crossed.

Smiling to herself, she slowly straightened up and yawned. Her outburst the night before made her feel better. A lot better.

She tried to remember what she and James had done afterwards. Well... he kind of gave her an awkward hug as she finished her last tears. Then they sat on the sofa and talked about things as they played Exploding Snap.

It had been a nice conversation, then they must've fallen asleep.

Too bad all boys weren't like him.

_That is so not what I would've thought a month ago_, she thought bemusedly as she slipped upstairs to the bathroom.

James was still asleep when Lily came back down. He was now lying on the rug.

Lily smiled, as she thought he looked quite adorable. Then she walked into the kitchen and started making morning noises.

"I wish for toast, butter and bacon," Lily said loudly, "And a cup of tea with sugar and a bit of milk." The food appeared as she said them and she arranged them on the table to her accordance.

"James? Wake up!" Lily called as she buttered her toast, "We seriously need to head back to camp, so then we can kill Sirius. And all those other evil people."

There was a groan from the living room and a few shuffling noises. Then James ambled in, his hair all over the place. He yawned widely.

"Make me breakfast," he requested sleepily as he slumped into a chair.

"Dude, all you have to do is wish for it," Lily said, trying not to laugh.

"Please?" James asked, pouting.

"All right, all right," Lily sighed, "Make me waste my breath, why don't you. What do you want?"

"Surprise me."

Lily really hated answers like that.

"I wish for sushi and miso soup," she said slyly.

"Aww, you seedy little girl," James said, looking disgusted as he surveyed the food.

"Hey, you said you wanted a surprise."

"A _pleasant_ surprise, perhaps?" James suggested.

"Are you insulting the Japanese?" Lily asked, pretending to be shocked.

James yielded on that question, "No, I'm just saying their food sucks."

"...Meaning you're insulting them."

"No, I like them and all, but the food needs a lot of working on."

"What's wrong with sushi and miso soup? It's delicious," Lily said defensively.

"Different people, different opinions."

"I'll say. Well, tuck in anyhow," Lily said cheerfully as she bit into her toast.

Glaring at her, James reluctantly swallowed a whole sushi.

---

"Two Galleons they've both got at least _one_ injury due to the other," Chelsea said that morning at breakfast. Most students were sleeping in their oatmeal, but our favourite bunch were amusing themselves with the possibilities of what James and Lily might be up to.

"No way, two Galleons they're snogging like bunnies and whispering, 'I love you sooo much' every now and then," Sirius said, spooning some oatmeal into his mouth.

"You reckon they've entered couple stage?" squealed Steph.

"Of course. They hated each other, sure, but the chemistry's always been there," Sirius shrugged, "You can tell they're destined to marry and have three kids with me as their godfather--dang, that sounds good."

Chelsea, Leonie and Remus snorted.

"So when are we planning to get them back?" Leonie asked, pushing away her bowl.

"Um... never?" Sirius tried.

"_Never_?" gasped Chelsea and Steph.

"Yeah, they can be like junglemen," Sirius pondered on that thought, "Man, that would be so cool."

"We are so definitely telling McGonagall in two days time, okay?" Chelsea interpreted to the others.

"Definitely," all but Sirius chimed.

"Spoilsports," he muttered.

---

After their delicious breakfast of toast, sushi and miso soup, they were quite appalled when it started raining as _soon_ as they talked about heading outside.

"It's like we're not supposed to leave," Lily said, frowning as she looked outside.

"Well, if it still rains tomorrow morning, we'll go anyway," James said carelessly, looking at the cabinet in the living room, "I mean, it can't hurt. I didn't even get numeany, or whatever you said it was."

"Pneumonia," Lily corrected with a brief sigh, "And the thought of having to walk through a thunderstorm is just scary."

"It's just a bit of rain--" _BAM!_ "--or not."

"This is freaky," Lily whispered, looking at the ceiling, "What if the lights go out or something?"

James looked confused, "Why would the lights go out?"

"Because it's thundering."

"...So?"

That was when she remembered wizards didn't know what _electricity_ was. And since this hut seemed magically-run (how else did all those things appear when you wished for them?) that meant the lights wouldn't go out.

"Well anyway, what can we do?" Lily asked, sinking onto the floor.

James had his head in the cabinet, "Whoa! They've got Wizendra Land in here! That game's like _ancient_! My parents were still kids when this was still popular."

He pulled out the dusty box.

"How do you play?" Lily wanted to know.

"You can't be serious," James said, fixing his eyes on her intently, "This game is _so_ old."

"I don't care, how do you play?" the redhead repeated.

**HALF AN HOUR LATER.**

"I have four Quissit cards," grinned Lily, "And you only have one!"

"Yeah, but I have like five Wintent cards, which is only one below a Quissit!"

"Hmm, that might help, if it weren't for the fact that I have _ten_ Wintents."

"What? Ten? Holy crap, I'm gonna have to start playing properly to beat you."

The two yammered and laughed the morning away as they played a fifty-year old board game. Lily ended up winning, despite James' knowledge of the game. They played until they grew hungry.

"Lunch," James announced, stretching.

"Yeah," Lily agreed, suddenly staring at James. Why did he have to be so... _handsome_?

As he walked into the kitchen, Lily caught herself checking him out. She groaned aloud when she realised what was wrong with her.

_I like James Potter._

---

During lunch (lasagne and steak and salad), James excused himself to the bathroom while Lily moaned and groaned (in her head, otherwise James would think she was sick) at how _stupid_ she was for falling for _HIM_.

HIM.

The boy she had learned to hate over the years.

...It really made no sense, and she felt so frustrated.

Meanwhile, James had filled up a plastic bucket of water. He was carefully placing it on top of the bathroom door. Smiling mischievously, he hopped down from the bathtub which he was standing on, and went back down to his delicious lunch.

Lily was swirling her salad around her plate, deep in thought. James waved his hand in front of her face.

"Yo, earth to Lily!"

She blinked, "What? Huh?" she looked around, alarmed, "I'm awake, what's going on?"

"You're spacing out," James said as he sat down, "Not cool."

"Why isn't it cool?" Lily asked, pushing away her plate as she didn't feel hungry.

"Because then it's so boring around here. No one to talk to," James shrugged as he took a bite of his steak, "That's not cool for me."

Lily just smiled and shook her head. On the inside, she felt sick. How in the world had she grown to _like_ this guy?

_Why does she have to be everything I've always dreamed about in a girl?_ James wondered with a sigh.

---

It was _still_ raining after lunch, which really annoyed Lily to no end. James could've cared less as he searched through the living room cabinet some more. To Lily's surprise, they found Candyland in there. She taught James how to play, and they had a good time going through the infant board game.

After three games, with Lily winning all of them, they played some spelling games. Then they started working on the Spring dance again, where James decided that he didn't agree to the Springyness of it after all.

"Winter, it has to be Winter."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-uh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-uh."

This continued for several minutes, with Lily a bit sidetracked as she worked on which music they should play.

"Look, you're doing way too much," James suddenly said, snatching the pencil and parchment away from her, "Let me do some, and you can lie in the middle of the room and... tan yourself."

Lily shot him a look, "James, give it back."

"No, Lily-bug," he said calmly, "Go. Tan. Now."

Lily wasn't used to people not obeying her, especially boys.

"James," she said dangerously.

"Lily," he responded just as dangerously.

Lily looked at him long and hard. Finally, she gave up.

"Fine, but you better get some of it done, and I am _not_ going to tan myself... how am I supposed to tan myself _indoors_, anyway..." Lily trailed off as she went upstairs to the bathroom.

"Ah, and now we wait," James whispered, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

He waited for a few seconds.

There was a shriek upstairs, which was followed by a splash.

"JAMES!"

James just continued smiling and pretended not to hear her. He doodled a picture of a Quaffle and felt very contented with life.

A dripping Lily Evans appeared at the living room entrance. She stood there meaningfully and just _Looked_ at him.

"You're supposed to _remove_ your clothes before you take a shower, Lily-bug," James said innocently.

"A bucket of water, _James_," Lily spat, biting back her smile, "On top of the bathroom door."

"I wonder who could've put it there," James said, feigning shock.

"Mmm, me too," Lily said sarcastically. She walked over to him and shoved the bucket into his lap, "Happy birthday, Potter." She grinned sweetly before walking off.

---

**DINNER/DESSERT.**

_SPLAT._

James blinked several times as the remains of the coffee cake slowly slid down his nose.

"Yummy?" Lily asked innocently, licking her spoon, "Revenge is sweet, Potter. Especially if you've just had an entire bucket of water tipped on you."

"Oh, you are so going _down_!" James said, grinning. He picked up his spoon and scooped a huge blob of ice-cream from his dessert bowl, "Prepare to die, Evans!" He flung it at her.

Lily shrieked and ducked, but to no avail. She grabbed at her slice of cake and hurled it at him, giggling.

Of course, that started a... dessert fight.

"I wish for a sponge cake!" Lily shrieked as she dodged James' accurate ice-cream blobs. The cake appeared and she threw it at him, plate and all.

"Grrr," James said animalistically, "I wish for a blueberry pie!" She screamed and giggled as she ducked under the table, and he began pegging bits of the pie at her, thinking how cute she was acting at the moment.

_Damn that girl_, he thought as a smile played across his lips.

The dessert fight finished ten minutes later. The two collapsed onto the creamified floor, both breathless.

They didn't say anything for a few seconds as they caught their breath.

"I call the bathroom," Lily suddenly said. With a grin she jumped up and tried to run out of the kitchen, but James grabbed at her shirt.

"No way, me first!" he said, also grinning. He leapt up by way of holding onto Lily's shirt, and the two yelled and laughed as they both tried to get up the stairs at the same time.

James reached the bathroom door first, and he grabbed onto the knob. Lily glared at him, poked him hard in the ribs and stomped on his foot. James yelped and sprang back, but didn't let go of the knob. Lily then proceeded to tickle him. Hard.

"Okay, okay, okay!" he gasped through his laughter, "You win!"

"Thought so," Lily said smugly. She pulled open the bathroom door, ran in and slammed it shut. James heard her lock it.

Grinning in spite of himself, James slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

_Damn that girl_, he thought yet again.

----------

A/N: Haha, I poked my friend in the ribs and jumped on his foot when he had both my arms wrapped tightly around his waist so he could drag me to my other friend, who then proceeded to spot me with blue paint! Argh! But it works. :) Then I ran to the bathroom where I washed the icky paint off. --MSQ.


	10. The Nightmare: Needing Love

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Ten ll The Nightmare: Needing Love**

----------

After Lily took a bath and dressed into her (or the hut's) pyjamas, she told the cake-and-ice-cream-covered James sweetly, "You may use the bathroom now," and went to bed.

She felt deliciously warm and happy, and immediately resolved to think less about herself from now on.

_The first thing I'm going to do when I get back_, she decided as she rest her head comfortably on the soft pillow, _Is apologise to Chel, Lee and Steph._

Lily was almost asleep when she heard James creep in. He smelt like soap.

James tiptoed into the darkness, careful not to trip or run into anything. He noticed Lily already asleep in her bed and smiled to himself. He knew he was starting to really like her, and he could do nothing about it.

Walking quietly over to her side, he looked at her pretty face that was illuminated by the moonlight and sighed quietly. He slowly leant down and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Lily-bug..." he whispered, under the impression she was fast asleep. He crept back into his own bed.

When the rustling stopped, Lily smiled and whispered very, very quietly, "Goodnight James..."

---

_"Give her to me," he ordered in a snarling, cruel voice._

_"No, please, please don't!" screamed a woman, on her knees. She was crying as she begged the towering figure, "Please, have mercy!"_

_"Give her to me!"_

_"She's not here!" the woman shrieked._

_Lily stared at the scene. She took a step forward and said disbelievingly, "Mum?"_

_Her mother nor the figure took any notice of her. They didn't seem to see or hear her._

_"You can lure her back," he hissed._

_"No, just leave her alone! It's me you want," she begged, "It's me..."_

_"You are useless now," he spat, "It is only her... you were of use before, before she was born. But she is magical and you're nothing but a dirty Mudblood. Hand her over."_

_"You'll never get her," she hissed back, finally gaining some confidence, "Never."_

_Voldemort took out his wand and pointed it at her._

_"You are asking for it."_

_"You will never get her," Lily's mother said, half-triumphantly, "Never."_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Lily woke up, screaming and crying. She looked around and was relieved to find herself in the dark bedroom.

"Lily? Is that you?" James' voice was thick with sleep.

Lily bit her lip, trying to compose herself, then burst into tears.

"Wha?" James flicked on the lights and crept over to Lily, "Hey... what's the matter?" He sat on her bed and she turned to him and buried her face in his shoulder.

"I saw h--him," she sobbed, "He was k--killing my m--mother."

"What?" James gasped, awkwardly putting his arm around her.

"Voldemort!" Lily cried out, "He k--killed my mother a--at the b--beginning of last y--year... Oh God, that was t--terrible."

"Oh Merlin," James gasped again, hugging her tighter, "I'm sorry, Lily."

There was silence for a moment as Lily continued to cry. Watching the murder of your mother was something so twistedly horrible... it broke her up on the inside.

When she calmed down, she muttered, "She was killed because of me."

Again, James was confused, "What?"

"He wanted me," Lily muttered, lifting her head from James' shoulder, "He still wants me. And she could've been saved, if it weren't for--" Lily leapt up and punched the wall.

"Lily, calm down!" James grabbed her hands as she burst into tears again. He pulled her into a hug, "Calm down before you start talking, all right?"

"You don't understand!" she shrieked, trying to wrench her hands from his grip, but he was too strong, "She could've lived, but because my scumbag of a father left us, she died!"

"What do you mean?" James asked quietly.

"My mother, sister and I have a gift," Lily muttered, sitting down, "I guess it's more of a curse sometimes, but a gift all the same. If we are loved by a man--and he loves us enough to die for us, we get a second chance to live."

"What?"

"It's some sort of ancient protection thing. I don't know. My mother had it first. And Voldemort heard about it, but he didn't know what it was. He just heard the three of us had a second chance to live if we died. And he wanted--_still wants_ that sort of power. He only found out when she got married. I suppose he tried stealing it from her, but he didn't know it was associated with _love_, something that he can't understand," a few tears fell from her eyes, "Then my sister and I were born. He found out I was a witch with that special protection. Therefore, that made me more worthy."

Lily shook her head, "I don't get it. How am _I _more worthy?"

James looked bewildered, "I--I guess it's because you're magical."

She just sighed, "My mother could've lived if my father stayed. If he had just continued to love her. But..." her eyes filled with tears, "My sister, much as I hate her, is in danger of dying too... I just hope that whale of a fiance of her's loves her enough."

James suddenly remembered something, "Is... is this why you're so het up about someone loving you?" he asked softly.

Lily nodded slowly, "I said I wanted to be loved... but truth is, I _need_ to be loved."

She scrunched up her face and started to cry again, but James just pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head. She sniffed into his chest, hoping that he'd never let go.

----------

A/N: (sob) I'm gonna start crying... Well, that sure was pathetic. Sorry! Hehe. --MSQ.


	11. The Disaster: Voldemort?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Eleven ll The Disaster: Voldemort?**

----------

James and Lily talked all night, until it was four AM. They talked about family, about Lily's relationship with her sister, about James' parents... They talked about a lot of things. Then they finally dropped off to sleep.

They didn't wake up until almost noon the next day.

"Holy chickens!" squealed Lily when she saw the magically-conjured up alarm clock (turned out the whole hut was like the Room of Requirement), "Cow! There is no way we're gonna make it back to camp!"

"Huh?" mumbled James.

"It's eleven-forty-nine!" Lily managed to yell before she ran out of the bedroom.

James let the sleep clear out of his mind before realising what Lily had said. He looked at the clock.

So she was right.

They had a light brunch then moved to the living room and started to... sit. And grow bored. So they started to talk about their friends.

"Chelsea fancies Sirius," Lily blurted out.

"Oh, how... nice," James said, blinking several times.

"You can tell. She's always looking at him, but she gets really annoyed at him. Really easily. I don't blame her. Sirius _is_ annoying."

"No he's not, really."

"It's just my opinion, of course," Lily shrugged, "And of course you would stick up for him, anyway. You're his best friend."

"No, actually, I agree Sirius is kind of annoying, but it's nature," James said seriously. Then he laughed, and Lily joined in.

"Leonie's a bit of a bore," James said slowly, wondering if that was such a great thing to say, "She's nice and smart and all, but she's kind of cynical and really hard to get to know."

"Yeah, I remember first meeting her. You kind of hate her for how she puts you down sometimes, but you really want her to like you as well," Lily said, choosing her words carefully.

"Yeah... what about Steph?" James asked.

"She's the babyish one," Lily said, pondering on the thought for a moment, "She's really cute, but she needs a lot of protecting. Once she gets a boyfriend, it'll be hell for me and Lee and Chel."

"Why?"

"Because boyfriends causes so much chaos, and Steph's too much of a little girl to realise it. She'll be in tears and tantrums every second day, and it'll be up to us to comfort her."

"You don't have to," James pointed out.

"But she's our friend, and our little sister in a way," Lily smiled, "I suppose you wouldn't understand."

"You're right."

After the talk, they laid down on the living room floor and looked up at the ceiling. It was raining again. They could hear it pounding on the roof.

Lily was dwelling on her own thoughts. James had kissed her twice now. True, it had only been on her head and on her forehead, but it still meant something, right?

_Or maybe he's just playing with you_, a voice in her heard argued back.

"Man, this sucks," James' voice broke into her thoughts.

"What does?"

"This," James waved his hand around, "Everything. If it continues raining, we're never going to be able to head back."

"Didn't you say it wouldn't matter if we trekked through the rain, because you didn't even get _numeany_?" Lily teased, still staring up at the ceiling.

James chuckled, "_I_ didn't get '_numeany_', but you might. Seeing as you're a girl."

"Being sexist now?"

"Hmmm... I suppose I am."

It was amazing. They spent three hours just lying there, talking about the first thing that came to the mind. Usually, James grew bored of talking, but with Lily, he just couldn't stop.

Finally they decided to have a snack. Then they played hide-and-seek. It was dark by then, and almost dinner time, but neither of them were very hungry.

"AHA! I found you!" Lily said triumphantly, breaking into a run down the stairs, seeing that James had cleverly concealed himself between the bookcase and tall vase.

James emerged with a grin, "Took you long enough."

"Whatev--oh!" Lily gave a small shriek as she tripped on one of the last few steps. She flailed forward. James immediately reached out and grabbed her hand, but she was still unbalanced. Lily grabbed at the first thing she could reach, which was the umbrella stand.

Suddenly, she felt as if she was in a time warp.

The hut disappeared, and everything became a blur. She felt like she was being spun around violently, like a merry-go-round put on the fastest speed. She could still feel James' hand tightly in hers.

The spinning stopped abruptly and the two yelped as they fell heavily on the ground, breathless.

Lily looked up fearfully. She could hardly see anything. It was so eerily dark.

"Where are we?"

James looked around, squinting. He was holding onto her hand tightly.

"We're in the Forbidden Forest," he replied as it dawned on. He was shaking.

Lily realised she was still holding the umbrella stand in her other hand. Immediately, she dropped it as though it was hot ash.

"It was a Portkey," she whispered, looking frightened.

"Well if it's a Portkey, it should take us back," James said, trying to hide the fear in his voice. He bent down to pick the umbrella stand back up--

"_Accio_!"

It flew out of his reach, and whisked out into the darkness.

James immediately straightened up, preparing himself for the worst.

"What--?" Lily started to gasp.

"Good evening."

It was a cold, souless voice from somewhere in the darkness. It pricked the hair on the back of their necks. Lily shuddered, she had heard that voice before...

"Voldemort," Lily suddenly whispered harshly. Anger flared inside of her and all fear seemed to disappear.

Several towering figures hidden in black cloaks and hoods advanced towards them. A single torch was lit, casting shadows everywhere.

"I see you have both come," whispered Voldemort, "Well, the more the merrier."

The Deatheaters gave some silvery laughter.

James stood there, frozen to the spot. His mind was racing and his heart was pounding. Lily was still glaring at the Dark Lord, her temper rising. _He_ had killed her mother.

"Bagman," Voldemort ordered.

"Yes, my Lord," one of the Deatheaters said, stepping forward from the semi-circle. They took out their wand and snapped it at James. Immediately, a cage appeared around him. James' eyes widened and he immediately moved forward, rattling the cage.

Lily turned to James, wondering what was happening.

_He wants me, not him_, she thought furiously.

"Let him go!" Lily shrieked, tears threatening to spill, "It's me you want, just let him go!"

The Deatheaters shuffled uncomfortably.

Voldemort turned to her and stepped forward towards her, "Intelligent, you are. Yes, I have come for you. But he is a threat to me as well."

"What the hell?" Lily screamed, becoming quite hysterical in her rage and confusion, "How am I a threat to you in the first place? Other than that thing that gives me a second life, of course," she added quite sarcastically.

James inwardly groaned.

Lily was arguing as if she was in a cat fight.

But you didn't have cat fights with someone like Voldemort.

"One day, you'll become much more powerful," he whispered vehemently, "For now you are just a young, foolish witch meddling in teenage woes. But as you grow older, you will undoubtedly become more powerful. Especially," he added with a poisonous glance at James, "with _him_."

Lily had no clue what he was talking about.

"You," she said, quite enjoying being so rude, "will never become the greatest sorcerer, because _Albus Dumbledore_ already is. If he could defeat Grindelwald, he'll defeat you. And everyone'll live happy that day. Can't be much of an achievement if everyone rejoices the day you lose power, right?"

Anger flamed inside of him.

"I _will_ be the greatest sorcerer," he thundered, causing several Deatheaters and James to flinch, "However," his voice dropped to a deadly whisper, "There _are_ a couple of obstacles standing in the way." He took out his wand and pointed it at her.

Lily stared right back at him. She whispered, "Kill me, I don't care. But you're just wasting your time and breath. I won't become a threat to you in the future because you're mistaken. There's nothing special about me."

"Not you by yourself, maybe," he was speaking furiously quickly now, as if he had many things to say and couldn't get them out properly, "But with _him_, you both have something that even I do not have, and cannot obtain." His voice was bitter and full of resent.

Lily still had no clue, but James understood.

"Lily," he yelled, "Take my hand!"

Lily turned to look at him and felt herself softened. _I love him. I love him so much._

_Merlin, right now isn't the time to dwell on teenage crushes._

But it felt much more than just that.

Lily started towards him.

"NO!" bellowed Voldemort, "_IMPERIUS_!"

Lily shrieked as she felt her mind being consumed, as if she had just been dunked underwater. She fell onto the ground, struggling with the pain that was throbbing in her head.

_Do not go near him._

_Kill yourself._

She shook her head painfully, trying to edge closer to the cage. _No._

_Take the wand and kill yourself._

_No._

_No one likes you for who you are. If you die, the world will be a happier place._

"NO!" Lily screamed.

James gave her an encouraging half-smile, he was reaching out of the cage, "Just a little further."

The Deatheaters were all too interested to see what would happen, and Voldemort was concentrating on controlling Lily's mind. She was tough. She was fighting it.

_Go to edge of the lake and throw yourself in... drown yourself... save yourself from the pain you are causing others... kill yourself..._

Lily involuntarily switched direction towards the lake.

_NO!_

Struggling painfully, everything seemed to stop as Lily tried to crawl to the lake, yet tried to reach for James' hand.

_Drown yourself... kill yourself..._

"NO!" she finally screamed. At this, all the pulling sensation telling her to go towards the lake disappeared. Panting, Lily threw herself with the last of her energy and grabbed James' hand.

"NO!" screamed Voldemort.

"I love you, Lily," James whispered, loud enough for her to hear him.

"I love you too..." her body was becoming weaker and her breaths shorter. She slowly collapsed onto the ground, completely limp.

A blinding white light seemed to erupt with a powerful whooshing noise. For a moment, you could see nothing but a dazzling white colour. The Deatheaters yelled and disapparated away, following their Dark Lord who had already fled.

The light shone throughout the entire forest, exploding into the sky as bright stars. Then it disappeared, leaving only a few more stars in the sky. They twinkled and shone as if they were guardian angels.

James felt so exhausted... his heavy eyelids were drooping... he felt himself slowly sink onto the ground. The cage that had trapped him mere seconds ago had disappeared along with the light.

"I love you, Lily," he repeated softly, his eyes fluttering shut.

----------

A/N: Awww.... their love is so sweet. :) --MSQ.


	12. The Recovery: All Is Well

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Twelve ll The Recovery: All Is Well**

----------

"...and I'm really, really sorry," Lily finished with a great sigh. She looked pleadingly at her three friends.

She would absolutely _die_ if they didn't forgive her.

Chelsea and Steph glanced at each other. A small smile was spreading across Leonie's lips.

"Merlin, Lily!" cried Steph, throwing herself onto the surprised redhead, "I thought my heart had stopped when Dumbledore said you had an encounter with-- with-- with You-Know-Who!"

"Scratch that," Chelsea said with a grin, leaning in to hug Lily when Steph released her, "I was bloody concerned when you and James didn't return after the third day."

Lily laughed in her relief.

Leonie grinned at her, "Hey, we're not about to desert you."

"Thanks, Lee." The two girls embraced.

Lily was sitting up on her white bed in the Hospital Wing. Apparently, she had been unconscious and hospitalized for a day.

"Great, who sent these?" she wanted to know, pointing at a box of Jelly Slugs.

"Remus," Steph replied. She turned her head to the bed near Lily and bit her lip. She lowered her voice, "How's James?"

Lily also bit her lip. She glanced at the lifeless boy.

"I don't know," she admitted, "He doesn't seem to be waking up... which is odd, because I already have, and I received more of a blow 'cause of the Imperius curse..."

At this, the girls shuddered.

"How was it, Lils?" whispered Chelsea.

"It... it was pretty scary. But I was kinda angry. I didn't feel too scared," Lily answered slowly, "He's just so... _cruel_." She sighed.

"Well, we're glad you're all right," Steph piped up, hugging her again, "I think we better leave, Madame Leyla is shooting us shoddy looks..."

They said goodbye to Lily and left.

The redhead laid back and felt content with life. She was safe at Hogwarts, and everything was fine with her friends.

She had woken up earlier to find Dumbledore sneaking into her Bertie Botts Beans box, sent from Peter. He then apologised (with Lily laughing and saying she wasn't quite fond of them herself so it was all right), and explained the situation to her.

While they were talking, something stirred in Lily's memory.

"Professor," she had said tentatively, "When James and I held hands, this huge light shone.... and I felt the Imperius curse being lifted. And then..." Lily quickly decided not to mention how she and James had exchanged 'I love you's, "...umm, they all left. The Deatheaters. And _him_. What happened?"

Dumbledore had simply chuckled and then gagged suddenly. Lily thought the poor man was having a heart attack, but soon found out he had just eaten a bogey-flavoured bean.

"Miss Evans," he had said once capable of speaking, "Did Voldemort not mention some sort of power that he wanted to obtain from you?"

"What, you mean that thing about a man loving me enough that I get a second chance at life?" Lily had asked bluntly.

"No, he was not after that this time."

"Then why'd he kill my mother?"

"Because," Dumbledore paused, "He was trying to get to you, but _not_ because of that ancient protection. This time, it had to do with you... and Mr. Potter."

Lily had no idea what to say.

"Love," he finally said softly, "Your love for him, and his for you. That sort of thing overpowers almost anything. And that is what he wanted."

"But... how could you get something like that?" Lily had wanted to know.

"You can't," Dumbledore had answered simply, "In order to have that sort of power, you need to have the love. Love is the one thing he cannot understand, Miss Evans. But even then, he thought he could just steal the power without the love."

"But you can't," Lily had said softly.

"Exactly, Miss Evans. Which is why he failed."

Lily smiled gratefully at him, but there was one question screaming in her mind.

_Does James really love me?_

---

That evening, when Lily felt exceptionally lonely, she slowly got out of bed and walked to the window. She looked outside. It was dark. She could see the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

She shivered and pulled her robe around her more tightly.

Slowly, she walked back to her bed. On her way, she paused at James'.

His eyes were still tightly shut and his face had a sort of sunken look to it.

_Why isn't he up yet? What if he's...?_

"James," Lily murmured softly, reaching out and touching his face, "Please wake up... everyone misses you... including me."

---

"Miss Evans?"

Lily opened her eyes the next morning. A smiling Madame Leyla was looking down at her, carrying a tray.

"Good morning."

"Oh... morning," Lily half-mumbled, trying to make her voice clear. She smiled back at the elderly lady and asked quickly, "Is James--"

"No, dear," sighed Madame Leyla, "At least not yet. Don't worry yourself, dear. He'll come around when it's time. As for now, it's time to take your potion."

Lily was still weak from the Imperius curse, and she had to take a certain clear potion every morning. She thought she was getting better and was already becoming bored of the Hospital Wing.

She gulped it down and started on her breakfast which Madame Leyla had also brought to her.

She sighed and glanced at James, putting down her fork. She had no appetite.

_When are you gonna wake up, Potter?_

After breakfast, Lily drew up a chair and sat beside James' bed, hoping for him to open his eyes and smile that cocky smile and greet in his sinister way, "Mornin', Evans."

Merlin, she missed him.

"HI LILY!" someone screamed.

She jumped a mile.

"Merlin, Sirius, you scared the Hippogriffs outta me!" she gasped, one hand over her heart.

Sirius laughed as he walked over with Remus and Peter, "So how're you doing?"

"I'm fine, but..." Lily bit her lip as she looked down at James.

"Ah, yes, Prongs," Sirius shook his head, "It's sad about him, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"Well," Sirius continued brightly, "The girls sent you their greetings, but they can't visit because Chel got in trouble for writing something on the library desks, and Leonie and Steph are filling in for you and James for the prefect meeting thing."

"Oh, that's nice of them," Lily said, blinking.

"Yes. So, you and James are couple?"

Lily immediately looked up, "_What_?"

_Did Dumbledore tell them???_

Remus nudged him, "Padfoot, that was uncalled for. The most they'd be is friends, right? I mean, if they still were enemies, they wouldn't be..."

"Alive?" suggested Peter.

"Err, not quite the word I was looking for, but close enough."

Sirius frowned at Lily, "I seriously thought you two had couple potential."

Lily's heart was pounding as she responded coolly, "I suppose you thought wrong then."

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Sirius suddenly yelled.

"Mr. Black, _please_ refrain yourself," Madame Leyla called annoyingly. She had just slopped water all over herself.

"Sorry," Sirius whispered. Then he turned to Lily accusingly, "If you aren't _crushing_ on that boy there--" he pointed at James, "--then _why_ are you sitting there, staring at him?"

"I..." Lily had no idea what to say.

"Wow, fair point, Padfoot," Remus said in awe.

Sirius looked smug.

"You don't like him, do you, Lily?" Remus asked, his eyes widening.

"I..." again, her mind was blank.

_THINK, BRAIN, THINK!_

"I think she does," Peter said bluntly.

"No I don't," she said at once, her cheeks reddening. _Ah, life is going to the dogs. Oh well, they were going to figure out sooner or later. It's not like it'll be one big secret. After all that 'love' thing. LOVE? Love... empowering... whoa._

_I think I'm insane._

"AHA!" shrieked Sirius yet again.

"Mr. Black, I am sorry, but you need to GET OUT THIS INSTANT!"

"I'm sorry! Okay, you like Prongsy, that's so cutesy! Bye bye-sy!" Sirius was dragged off by a very huffy Madame Leyla.

"Err, we better go with him, just to make sure he doesn't... paint the walls with peanut butter," Remus muttered to Lily. He smiled at her, "You and James, hey? And I thought Sirius was insane... c'mon, Wormtail."

"See ya," Peter said to Lily.

"Bye."

They had only been gone for a couple of minutes when James' eyes slowly fluttered open.

Lily immediately got to her feet and scrambled back, "No _way_!" she gasped.

"Hi, Lily," he said, his eyes widening. He slowly sat up and looked around, "Where _am_ I?"

"You're alive!" she exclaimed softly.

"Yup... disappointed?" he asked with a grin.

"Good Merlin," Lily stared at him for a moment before throwing herself on him, "I thought you were--"

"Dead?" James suggested, surprised but immensely pleased at her hug.

"_No_," Lily said, releasing him, "Uhh... I don't know, actually."

He chuckled.

"So... how long have I been asleep?"

"Over a day."

"Wow."

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"No permanent injuries?"

"No."

"No forever scars as a consequence of such a traumatic experience?"

"No."

"Resorting to one-word answers?"

"Yeah."

They looked at each other and laughed.

Suddenly, there was silence as they looked at one another in the eyes. James slowly leant in.

"I meant what I said, you know," he whispered. He was dangerously close to her. Lily felt like squirming. She knew what he was talking about.

"Yeah, well, so did I," she whispered back, her emerald eyes wide and alert.

James leant in closer and their lips brushed to what had to be the lightest kiss ever. Suddenly, she pulled back, blushing terribly. It was all too awkward for her, knowing all this love stuff that had defeated Voldemort when she and James had never even dated or kissed.

"I--uh--need to-- wash my face," she blubbered, turning around and running away.

James was momentarily stunned.

Then he grinned and relaxed in his bed.

All was well.

----------

A/N: I'm bored. :) PLEASE REVIEW AND THANKS FOR REVIEWING! I'm not hungry, but it's dinner, so... R--E--V--I--E--W! AND RON/HERMIONE FOREVER! OKAY, THAT WAS RANDOM! --MSQ.


	13. The Spring Dance: Special Kisses

﻿ 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Thirteen ll The Spring Dance: Special Kisses**

----------

"This is bloody mental," Chelsea said blankly.

"I second that," Leonie agreed, still staring into space.

"I think it's cute!" Steph squealed, giggling, "Lily and James look so adorable together!"

"How do you know this is true?" Chelsea asked.

"We don't," Remus said bluntly.

"Nooo," Sirius said, "Shhh, Moony! Lily was staring at him when we came by the wing. And she was blushing. And like... yeah!"

"It just seems so..."

"Unbelievable?"

"Exactly! How can you switch from hating a person to liking them in a couple of days? They've had an emnity for a couple of years!"

"Well, believe it," Sirius said carelessly.

After that discussion, they went down to the Great Hall for dinner. Hardly anyone knew that only two nights ago, Voldemort had been in the Forbidden Forest with his army of followers.

"Wow, Lily and James," Chelsea said conversationally, stabbing at her potato mash, "You know, come to think of it now, they did seem to flirt a bit when they argued."

"Well, maybe they're both mentally challenged and hid their feelings that way," Leonie said with the air of finality.

"Nah, I don't think that's true," Steph said, drinking some pumpkin juice, "They were destined, but they messed with fate. You know how Lily is. She hates to think she's not in control of her life. That's probably how James is too."

"I suppose."

Lily took the seat opposite them and grabbed a plate of chicken-and-vegetable pie, "Hey, guys. Great, I'm starved. Pass the chicken drumsticks, will you, Lee?" 

"Okay," Leonie picked up the plate, then gawked at her, "You're out of the Hospital Wing!"

"LILY!" screamed Steph.

Lily grinned, "Yup." She took the plate and started eating, "I missed Hogwarts' food."

"We heard some interesting things," Chelsea said teasingly as she poured gravy on her potatoes, "About you and a certain boy."

Lily stopped eating for a second to take a swig of pumpkin juice, "Really?" she took a bite of her pie, "What sort of interesting things?"

"Like how you like James!"

"How cute," Leonie said, a smile unfurling across her face.

Lily almost choked.

_Must kill Sirius._

"Guys, that's insane. Okay, we're friends. But that's about it." Another huge chunk of her pie disappeared into her mouth.

"You can't fool us, Lily."

"Well, I tried." 

The girls laughed.

---

**A MONTH LATER.**

Lily felt at peace as she headed back up to the Gryffindor common-room. The Spring dance was finally organized and was to be held tomorrow.

Then she stopped dead in her tracks.

She didn't have a date.

"Oh, cow!" she cursed aloud. Sighing, she hitched up her bookbag and started walking faster to the common-room, hoping to snag a cute boy on her way.

Lily still really, really, really liked James, but nothing had happened between them. They were just really close friends. She supposed he had stopped liking her, if he ever did.

_All that stuff Dumbledore said was probably a load of waffle. Still, why did James say "I love you" if he didn't even mean it?_

Those sort of thoughts kept her awake at night as she tossed around restlessly. Her friends were clueless as to why James and Lily weren't a couple yet, and Sirius was positively suffering everyday he saw them separate.

"Prongs, ASK HER OUT YOU FOOL!"

"Padfoot, shut up for a moment."

James always avoided the matter and told people to "shut up" whenever the subject was brought up. For Merlin's sake, he'd ask when he was ready, it was his own business! He didn't really feel as though Lily returned his feelings, at any rate.

Lily was almost up the stairs when someone came thundering down, obviously in a hurry.

"Whoa!" she gasped and pressed herself against the wall as the person almost ran over her.

"Sorry!" he yelled when he was at the bottom of the stairs.

Then he stopped and turned around.

"Lily?"

"Good Merlin, watch where you're going!"

James chuckled as he slowly walked back up the stairs, "Sorry about that."

"Where's the fire?" Lily asked, picking up her bag which she had dropped.

"Quidditch--I'm so late."

"Then go," Lily said, looking at him in an odd way.

"Oh--yeah," James chuckled again and started to run down the stairs, cursing himself, "See ya later!"

Then he seemed to regain some courage and turned around again, "Hey, Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Who're you going with to the dance tomorrow?"

Lily gave a weak laugh, "No one. You?"

"Ditto," he hesitated for a second, "Wanna go together?"

"Oh," Lily hoped she wasn't blushing, "Sure!"

"Cool," James grinned, "Well, I gotta go--you know, I might be beheaded if I'm any more late. Bye!"

Lily grinned as she turned around and started walking, an extra skip in her step.

---

"Why, someone looks nice," James complimented when Lily emerged into the common-room. Lily smiled at him, "I reckon."

"Good evening, m'lady," Sirius said in a dignified way, walking towards Chelsea and kissing her hand. Chelsea smiled at him affecionately, "My lord," she curtseyed.

Sirius had asked her to the dance in the library, where upon Chelsea picked up a heavy textbook, thwacked him on the head three times, then said yes.

Steph had been asked by a tall, handsome Hufflepuff, whom she was going to meet in the Great Hall. She was terribly giggly and kept blushing, as well as obsessing over how she looked.

Remus asked Prielle de Souza, a pretty Latino girl in their year who was rather popular but sweet and nice. She was also a Gryffindor.

Leonie said she was going to "fly solo", and was immensely surprised when a total of five boys asked her. She turned four of them down, then decided she might as well accept Karl Lee, a Ravenclaw who successfully made her blush.

"He made you _blush_?" Steph was giggling insanely.

"Oh, shut up," Leonie blushed again.

"Oh Merlin, get the camera!" Lily laughed.

"LEE'S BLUSHIN'!" Chelsea yelled, giggling.

Peter had decided to take a rather pretty and quite nice Slytherin girl. She was petite and had blonde hair, and the Gryffindors were surprised at how sweet she was. Her name was Begonia Podewell.

When they reached the Great Hall, an excited Steph went off to find her prince, who promptly lifted her off the floor and swung her around as though she was a five-year-old. Peter found Begonia and the two smiled shyly at each other, and Leonie was attempting to make herself invisible.

"Hey, there's your dream man," teased Chelsea, pushing Leonie towards Karl.

"God, Chel, I am going to kill you," Leonie muttered when Karl spotted her, his face lighting up.

"HI LEONIE!"

He came over and dragged her away.

"Well, it looks like she's going to have a good time," Lily said with a smile. James linked his arm through her's tighter, "Well, we're going to have a good time too."

Dumbledore had just welcomed everybody and had _just_ said, "Enjoy the dance," when several rainbows exploded in the Great Hall, woving through everyone.

"They're so pretty!" Steph said in awe, looking around.

Several stars started to twinkle and the music started. The rainbows were definitely a good idea, as couples started to laugh and dance. Usually, it would take at least ten minutes for people to start dancing.

"They're beautiful," Lily remarked, looking at the rainbows.

"Just like you," James said, smiling at her. He slowly turned so that he was facing her, woving his fingers into her's.

Lily smiled up at him.

_'Maybe I'm amazed of the way you love me all the time._   
_Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you._   
_Maybe I'm amazed of the way you move me out of time,_   
_And hung me on a line._   
_Maybe I'm amazed of the way I really need you.'_

"I love you," he whispered, his head resting on her shoulder.

Lily smiled even more, wrapping her arms around his neck slowly.

"I love you, too."

James pulled back and grinned at her. She grinned back.

And they had their first, real kiss, under a rainbow.

"Look at them," whispered Chelsea, smiling as she and Sirius moved in time with the music.

Sirius looked over at Lily and James, and grinned. He had been right. He was _always_ right. He spun Chelsea around, then leant down and kissed her, taking her by surprise.

Remus was also looking at Lily and James, then saw Chelsea and Sirius. Grinning sheepishly, he thought _what the heck_ and grabbed Prielle, kissing her on the mouth. Prielle was shocked but kissed him back, very pleased.

Karl leant down to kiss Leonie, but she pulled back.

"No way, man."

"C'mon..."

"Don't make me hurt you!"

"Fine." They danced in silence for a moment, then grinning, Karl gave her a quick peck on the lips. Leonie glared at him, but blushed all the same.

Steph and her dance date were already snogging.

Peter and Begonia were sitting at the table, catching each other's eye and grinning nervously. They talked about stuff, and commented on the food.

Lily and James broke off their kiss. They grinned at each other and kissed again.

It looks like Lily _will_ be loved, after all.

----------

A/N: Yo, it's the end! :) I had tons of fun writing this! I hope you enjoyed it, and feedback is always adored. :) The little paragraph of lyrics belongs to the song 'Maybe I'm Amazed'. I _think_ it's originally sung by Paul McCartney, but singers like Cyndi Lauper and Jem have done remakes of it. Well, bye bye! :) --MSQ.


	14. The End: Au Revoir!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs not to me. :)

**She Will Be Loved**

**Chapter Fourteen ll The End: Au Revoir!**

----------

MSQ: Yay, another L/J fic done! I love this one, it turned out great... I think. Lol. :) And thank you so much for reviewing! They're so encouraging and stuff, and you guys write such lovely comments. I would like to thank you all, but unfortunately I cannot be bothered to put up your names... you all know who you are. :)

Chelsea: But MSQ would like to say a _special_ thanks to Kaydee (anonymous) as she (or he) was one of her first reviewers, and had a very encouraging review that kept her writing. So THANK YOU!

Steph: Ya. MSQ will be writing more L/J fics soon, but she's also thinking about writing a Harry/Ginny one. Also, a Ron/Hermione fic as she adores that couple almost as much as L/J.

Leonie: Now, to explain a bit of what inspired the OCs in this story...

MSQ: I've always loved the name Chelsea, and there was this girl in my school named that. Her character is just written as a normal teenager, though a bit more worry-ish. Since she was never described, she has blonde hair and brown eyes.

Lily: Steph was based on a girl who goes to church with MSQ. She's a bubbly girl and nothing can hold her down for long. She's a bit immature and gets excited easily. In the story, she's a brunnette with blue eyes.

James: Leonie is just a name MSQ thought was cute. The character is based on an old friend of her's, a rather calm, cynical and practical girl who puts you down a lot. She doesn't really do it on purpose, she's just being overly honest. However, she gets dangerous when she's angered. This girl is also Asian, like in the story. She's really small and petite.

Remus: Okay, okay, back to the point...

Sirius: MSQ has already started another L/J fic, called _Catch Me If You Can_. She reckons it's cute so far, and would like you all to read and review it!

Peter: Thank you all so much for reading this.

Begonia Yeah, you can review this chapter too, if you want. Though it's really just an author's note cleverly disguised. Muahahahaha. Oh, the origin of my name was discovered when MSQ read about it in the HP book OoTP. It's a type of flower. ("..._as he lay in Aunt Petunia's dying begonias..._")

MSQ: Aren't these characters great for writing what I wanted to say? Lol. Anywho, I hope you continue reading my stuff. I have fun writing. Hehe. I decided to rewrite this story because the old version sucked... real bad. Now there's a lot more to this story than just a hate/love relationship that springs to love after getting stuck in a hut for a couple of days. It also used to be called _All Hell Breaks Loose!_ which I thought was an inappropriate title, since it really had nothing to do with it. Well, that's all I wanted to say! :)

Everyone: BYE BYE! (mexican wave)

----------

**The Final Disclaimer:** I have kidnapped Jo and swallowed her, giving all credit of HP to me. If you believe this you are A) stupid, B) stoned, C) gullible. --MSQ.


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